NEWS STORY: Persecuted Christians top priority for Christian Coalition

c. 1997 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ The new president of the Christian Coalition Tuesday (Aug. 26) elevated legislation to combat the overseas persecution of Christians to the top of his organization’s list of congressional priorities. Don Hodel, the former Reagan administration official who took over the coalition’s top post in June, said the religious […]

c. 1997 Religion News Service

WASHINGTON _ The new president of the Christian Coalition Tuesday (Aug. 26) elevated legislation to combat the overseas persecution of Christians to the top of his organization’s list of congressional priorities.

Don Hodel, the former Reagan administration official who took over the coalition’s top post in June, said the religious right’s leading advocacy group would emphasize the issue because”it is an international crisis and U.S. inaction is a disgrace.” Hodel _ in his first Washington public appearance since becoming coalition president _ said the group remains committed to its previously announced agenda for the 105th Congress.


That agenda _ unveiled in January by former executive director Ralph Reed _ included an emphasis on tax cuts and other economic initiatives designed to aid families. It also includes efforts to reach out to inner-city minorities through faith-based anti-crime and anti-drug programs.

In prepared remarks, Hodel also said passage of the Religious Freedom Amendment, which would allow prayer in public schools, and education reforms designed to increase local control would also be coalition concerns when Congress reconvenes after Labor Day.

However, Hodel actually said little about those issues during his appearance Tuesday at a Washington forum sponsored by the conservative weekly Human Events. Anti-abortion efforts _ once the Christian Coalition’s signature issue _ were not mentioned at all by Hodel.

Instead, Hodel focused almost entirely on religious persecution overseas, particularly of Christians, an issue that gained prominence earlier this year during the congressional debate over extending China most-favored-nation trading status.

Some evangelical Protestants and conservative Roman Catholics unsuccessfully argued against granting China MFN status because of Beijing’s alleged mistreatment of Christians, saying moral concerns must come before economic interests. Under Reed’s leadership, the coalition joined the opposition to treating China as a normal trading partner.

However, others _ including the Rev. Billy Graham and the National Association of Evangelicals _ said religious freedom in China was better served by staying economically engaged with Beijing, which was also President Clinton’s position.

Tuesday, Hodel reiterated the coalition’s support for legislation introduced by Sen. Arlen Specter, R.-Pa., and Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., that would impose economic and other sanctions on nations found to be persecuting Christians or other religious believers.


In addition to China, Hodel listed Sudan and other”more militant Muslim countries”as nations in which Christians are persecuted.

In a recent survey on the persecution of Christians overseas, the State Department noted reports that Christians are being sold into slavery and forcibly converted to Islam in civil war-wracked Sudan. The same survey said Christians are not allowed to openly worship in Muslim Saudi Arabia and that Christian homes and churches have been destroyed by”Muslim mobs”in Pakistan.

American Muslim leaders have charged that Islamic nations have been unduly singled out for criticism and that the complexities of culture, race and politics that also influence inter-group strife are being ignored.

Hodel rejected those concerns.”I think that one of the ways to divert attention from the problem of this persecution is to start asserting that, well, it’s really a cultural problem …”Hodel said.”I urge you to go back and read what was said in Nazi Germany in the ’30s about the Jews and then listen to what’s being said today by people on this very subject and realize the parallels are appalling,”he said.

Hodel’s comments drew immediate criticism from long-time coalition critics.

Carole Shields, president of the liberal People for the American Way Action Fund, said,”There’s a great irony here. The Christian Coalition today proclaims its desire to fight for religious liberty abroad. But with the same breath,”she said, referring to the coalition’s support for”captive”school prayer,”it renews its assault on religious liberty at home.”

MJP END RIFKIN

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